Starting Points for the Lifelines Series

The first piece in the "Lifelines" series started in late summer 2020. Next to the Regional Park fence line, wild survivors face daily challenges with both natural predators and urban encroachment, but every spring they return to carry on as well as they can.

" I painted a tribute to a beautiful doe who lost one of her twins this spring, using a 58" section of live edge cedar. The project is a celebration of strength, resilience, and future generations. " 

Then Neilson continued exploring other portraits of wild survivors at the edge of the forest, especially the small birds and local Okanagan wildlife met near the studio. The initial inspiration for each piece comes from finding energetic placements for figures in the woodgrain.  Some pieces are created on reclaimed wood, but then most are painted in oils on natural kiln-dried wood surfaces.